This is Why You Should Never Drink a McDonald’s Shamrock Shake

St. Patrick’s Day is fast approaching, which means McDonald’s has released their annual green, minty and sweet “harbinger of Spring,” the annual McDonald’s Shamrock Shake. Also known as The McCafe Shamrock Shake, the McDonald’s Shamrock Shake is a classic drink that has an almost cult-like following. Each year, thousands of people joyfully rekindle a love-affair with the McDonald’s minty February/March phenom known as the Shamrock Shake.

Release date for 2018

If you are a Shamrock Shake addict, I’ve got some intel for you. McDonald’s (participating locations) started rolling-out Shamrock Shakes on Thursday, February 22, 2018 and will continue through March.

Four new flavors for 2017

OooWee… excited? If yes, you will also be pumped to learn that MickeyD’s is releasing more than the original Shamrock Shake. This year, for a limited time, there will be an entire line of Shamrock Shake flavors and varieties on the menu. Get all of the deets about this insanity by visiting my latest article,

Update: Missing in 2018 is the Shamrock Shake-related quartet unveiled in 2017. McDonald’s has decided NOT to release the Chocolate Shamrock Shake, the Shamrock Chocolate Chip Frappé, the Shamrock Mocha and the Shamrock Hot Chocolate this year.

Nostalgic but not all that it seems

The Shamrock Shake evokes nostalgic feelings for many and since its introduction in the 1970s, over 60 million Shamrock Shakes have been sold. I credit McDonald’s marketing strategy – it’s rather brilliant. However, there’s more to this shake than what you can see. One would think there are about 4 ingredients that make up the Shamrock Shake – ice cream, syrup, whipped cream and cherry, right? Well, yes… and no…. heavy emphasis on the no.

The truth, unraveled

We all know that a sweet treat from McDonald’s is not going to be “healthy” by any means. Great… but do you know how unhealthy this particular indulgence, the McDonald’s Shamrock Shake, is? If not, hold onto your shakes, folks. I am about to reveal the truth of what is in this minty, sweet trip down memory lane. It will then be up to you to decide whether or not you will continue drinking Shamrock Shakes. 🙂 For everyone who has already decided that the cons outweigh the pros of this drink, keep reading, because I include healthy alternatives (complete with recipes) in this article.

The McDonald’s Shamrock Shake may be festive and fun, but it packs a punch. It is a fast-food calorie-bomb that consists of a staggering number of ingredients (35), many of which are obscure additives and dangerous chemicals. Let’s take a closer look:

Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be lower depending on your calorie needs.

These nutrition facts and ingredients were updated on February 1, 2017.

If your mind is blown by these nutrition facts, hold onto your skull because there is more. The ingredients that make up this creamy treat concern me more than its calories and fat content. The McDonald’s Shamrock Shake consists of 35 different ingredients! THIRTY-FIVE ingredients for a SHAKE. I’d say that might be okay if those ingredients were straight-forward, natural and safe, but sadly, most are not. Many of these ingredients are artificial, chemical-heavy preservatives that wreak havoc on our health. Let’s take a closer look:

McDonald’s Shamrock Shake (McCafe Shamrock Shake) Ingredients

We all know that a dessert from McDonald’s is not nutritious, but many people are unaware of how unhealthy some of these menu items truly are. After a quick glance, the five ingredients of a Shamrock Shake look innocent.

These ingredients include:

Vanilla reduced fat ice cream

Shamrock Shake syrup

Whipped topping

Maraschino cherry

Green sugar crystals (a new ingredient debuting in 2017)

However, upon closer inspection, each main ingredient has several ingredients of its own – and the majority are chemicals in the form of additives, food dyes and preservatives. Yes, we and our environment are made up of chemicals, but I am talking about the chemicals that are not naturally found in whole foods – synthetic compounds that have been proven by science to be detrimental to our health.

Much of the food we consume (healthy and unhealthy) consists of more than one ingredient, but I want to emphasize that most of the main ingredients listed above have between 10 and 15 individual total ingredients, many of which are harmful to our health.

Here is the full breakdown of the ingredients in a McDonald’s Shamrock Shake:

Note

Some ingredients such as sugar, high fructose corn syrup, carrageenan, and artificial flavors are repeated, which means that the final product has double and sometimes triple the amount of such ingredients. The ingredients which I have highlighted are linked to online resources.

GREEN SUGAR CRYSTALS

Toxic cocktail

A “shake” should have four-to-six ingredients and less than ten in total, not 35. With the Shamrock Shake and its 35 ingredients, McDonald’s is serving up a chemical shit-storm that is full of artificial preservatives and colorings that are toxic to your body’s systems. Many of the ingredients in this drink have been linked to various health issues and behavioral traits including:

“Every time you eat or drink, you are either feeding disease or fighting it.” – Heather Morgan, MS, NLC

Obviously, drinking one McDonald’s Shamrock Shake is not going to send you six-feet under right now, but its ingredients (refined sugar, saturated fat, trans fat, artificial dyes, additives and emulsifiers such as polysorbate-80) will very likely contribute to an inflammatory response within the body. Inflammation often begins in your gut and affects multiple aspects of your health. If not managed, inflammation can lead to disease and illness later on in life, sometimes sooner than you would think.

Many of us have chronic systemic inflammation years before its symptoms become apparent or clinically significant. The shakes and lifestyle you choose now will impact your health in the future. Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), once said that “genetics loads the gun, and environment pulls the trigger.” I strongly believe there is truth in this statement.

Knowledge is power

I want you to be educated on the food system and what “food” is on menus of places such as McDonald’s. Knowing what the ingredients are in the food you eat allows you the freedom to choose whether you will feed disease or fight it. Numerous things we come into contact with daily (traditional Western Diet, sedentary lifestyle, non-organic meats and veggies, depression, anger, stress and anxiety, cigarettes, alcohol and pollution) already contribute to chronic inflammation within the body. Why drink this chemical cocktail and add another trigger to the list? … and does a McDonald’s Shamrock Shake really taste THAT good?

Alternatives to the McDonald’s Shamrock Shake

If you are jonesing for a festive sweet-treat and care about your health, please stay away from McDonald’s and create your own Shamrock Shake. Here are three healthy alternatives:

If you are craving a traditional homemade Shamrock Shake with ice cream and CAN tolerate cow dairy, visit my “Homemade Shamrock Shake” article for a perfect go-to milkshake recipe. This cold, creamy and minty shamrock shake will not disappoint and is very simple to make at home. Avoid the lines (and disappointment of broken shake machines at McD’s.)

The recipe

Note: This recipe is healthier than the McDonald’s Shamrock Shake, but is still high in sugar and calories. Remember – sugar and dairy contribute to inflammation. Also, be mindful of food allergies and intolerances.

If you are dairy-free, as many of my readers are, and want a shamrock shake version with less sugar than a traditional shamrock shake recipe, this recipe by The Healthy Beast may be a good choice. It is paleo and dairy-free and uses five to six main ingredients.

The main ingredients of the homemade shake include:

Tips

The recipe calls for almond milk, but I suggest omitting this ingredient (unless you make your own almond milk) due to the additives found in many of the almond milk store brands. You can substitute a full-fat, organic coconut milk for the almond milk.

Buy as many ingredients organic as possible – especially the extracts.

If you want to avoid alcohol, or are sensitive to it, you can substitute fresh vanilla beans and mint leaves for the extracts.

Granted, if you are used to the sugary-sweet version from McDonald’s, this shamrock shake is going to be a far cry from what you are used to… however, it may be a good alternative for people looking to improve their diets – just be sure you are not allergic to the ingredients. I have not made this version of the Shamrock Shake yet, but am looking forward to experimenting with it… hopefully the taste will be as good as the photos show it to be!

The recipe

Note: Yes, the fat and calories from this shamrock shake recipe may be on the higher side of things due to the coconut milk and avocado, but I am not concerned with this because unlike that of the MickeyD’s version, coconut milk and avocado are healthier sources of fat.

Consuming these whole foods (provided you are not allergic) will create a less dramatic blood sugar reaction within the body, help you feel more satiated (making you less likely to overeat), and will provide anti-inflammatory benefits (eating fresh, whole foods fights inflammation and prevents illness). Don’t forget to balance this healthy eating with an active lifestyle.

Mmmm mmm mmmm. After reading this information about the McDonald’s Shamrock Shake, are you still “loving it”…?! I now for sure that I am not. Blah!

Frustration with the food industry

I am saddened and frustrated that our food industry is backwards in the sense that the health and wellbeing of Americans are NOT a priority. It is shocking that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows this kind of crap to end up in consumers’ bellies. Yes, people have the option to buy or not buy (and eat, or not eat) foods like this, but sadly, many people are not aware of the dangers that lurk in these “food-like-substances.”

Lack of transparency

Often, things aren’t as straightforward and transparent as they look. Large corporations like McDonald’s use tricky marketing ploys to suck people into their establishments. Without the proper education about what’s in their foods, it can be rather confusing to navigate all of the nutritional information that is floating around us.

Become aware and take action

I write articles like this to enhance your awareness of restaurant (and fast-food) menu items so that you know what foods (or food-like substances) are lurking on your and your children’s plates. I don’t think anyone should drink a toxic cocktail like this, but, in the end, it is up to YOU to decide what you will do with this information.

Get the word out

Knowledge is power. If you find any of this information appalling, surprising, useful and/or eye-opening, please help me spread awareness by sharing this knowledge with your friends, family and anyone else who will benefit… and skip the McDonald’s Shake this season.

Share this article on your social media sites, print and pass it out, talk about it at your dinner table and in your schools. Call and write to McDonald’s, demanding that they make changes to the nutrition and ingredients of their products!

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Comments

I get what your saying with this article but lets be real here, this is a fun thing that I enjoy once or twice a year. No one (I hope anyway) is really going to drinking these every day where this could be a legit problem. Having one or two every March isn’t going to kill anyone and being a certified trainer you of all people should know that moderation is the key to everything. I appreciate what you did with the article but to be honest it was a waste on myself who will be going to get my first one of the year this afternoon.

Thanks for stopping by, AJ; I appreciate your feedback. 🙂 How did your shake taste? I got one last year to try it… to see if I was really missing out… and I just didn’t like it… tasted too artificial for me, left a funky toothpastey/sour milk taste in my mouth, and I knew would make me feel sick if I had more than a few sips… It kind of surprised me because with all of the hype, I thought it would taste better.

I never said the act of drinking one or two shakes is going to kill you… I said it leads to inflammation within the body and inflammation has a cumulative effect over time. In my article I wrote,

“Obviously, drinking one McDonald’s Shamrock Shake is not going to send you six-feet under right now, but its ingredients (refined sugar, saturated fat, trans fat, additives and emulsifiers such as polysorbate-80) will very likely contribute to an inflammatory response within the body. Inflammation often begins in your gut and affects multiple aspects of your health. If not managed, inflammation can lead to disease and illness later on in life, sometimes sooner than you would think. Many of us have chronic systemic inflammation years before its symptoms become apparent or clinically significant. The shakes and lifestyle you choose now will impact your health in the future. Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), once said that “genetics loads the gun, and environment pulls the trigger.”

… also from my article:

“I want you to be educated on the food system and what “food” is on menus. Knowing the ingredients in the food you eat allows you the freedom to choose whether you will feed disease or fight it. Numerous things we come into contact with daily (traditional Western Diet, sedentary lifestyle, non-organic meats and veggies, depression, anger, stress and anxiety, cigarettes, alcohol and pollution) already contribute to chronic inflammation within the body. Why drink this and add another trigger to the list?”

Wow, I’m impressed by how pretentious and fear-mongering this article is! I gotta say, I’ve never tried a Shamrock Shake before. I googled them to find out a little about them and happened upon this article. I’ll have to try every variety now.

Okay, in full seriousness, I feel like you could channel this information into something more productive. If you presented the piece from a more neutral perspective, maybe you could make a petition to have McDonalds change the recipe to something more simple?

Ahhh, this is a lotta baloney! Where’s your spirit of fun & adventure?
Shamrock Shakes are American as apple pie. I have them EVERYTIME they are available.
Washing down a deep-fried apple pie with a supersize Shamrock Shake is a gustotory pleasure
hitherto known onlyto the Gods themselves …. Plus think about it, would Woodsy the Elf
let ya down with something unclean & delicous? Come on ….

This is kind of silly. Any milkshake is going ot have more than 5 ingredients. Even your “organic vanilla icecream” has more ingredients than one. Ice cream, by default, is an item that contains more than one ingredient.

Saying “you should never drink a McDonalds Shamrock Shake” because it has more than 5 ingredients is a very very very weak argument. A cheeseburger has more than 3 ingredients: cheese, hamburger patty, bread! GASP!

And I’m pretty sure anyone who is going for a Shamrock Shake knows its not calorie free. ANY milkshake with an ice cream base is not going to be good or healthy for you, and you likely will consume a large amount of your daily calories. This is why its a splurge and a rare treat, not an everyday item.

I’m sorry you spent so much time researching and writing this article, as this is no news to me at all. You did not convince me otherwise to enjoy a mint milkshake once a year.

The Shamrock shake of 2017 is a lot different than how i remembered it. Yes it is tasty. Thankfully i just got a mexium with my filet fish meal sandwich. I had left it a bit late for lunchtoday whime running errands. I haven’t have McDonald’s food in ovet 5 months. Too mucb sugar in the shake. My legs are agitated from the sugar overload. I haf to take a nap from the sugar deep. This has thrown off my afternoon and evening plans. I google the nutrition list of the shake to doublecheck how much suvar was in ot. This is my last McD shamrock shake. Scary.

Hi Coastal Colleen! Thanks for sharing your experience – my hope is that by sharing our stories, we may help others avoid sugar crashes and allergic responses from foods (food-like substances?) like the Shamrock Shake. I’m sorry to hear that you felt so terrible after drinking one Shamrock Shake… it’s so scary that one drink can throw our bodies into chaos. I wouldn’t be surprise if the combination of sugar AND artificial colorings/preservatives is what caused you to have such a negative reaction. Thanks again!

Indeed they have helped people make better choices! Just read some of the comments and you will see that. Props to you for “reading and looking up things”… sadly, many people do not do the same and have no idea… and I am all about letting people live… perhaps some of my articles will actually help people live… “longer” ?? 😉

Oh God….another “health Nazi” WHO THE HELL CARES!! one drink will not kill you just because it has a bunch of crap in it. NEWS FLASH, almost everything we consume today has high fructose corn syrup and artificial ingredients. If you don’t like it, don’t eat and grow your own damn food, but don’t write a stupid article voicing your own opinions and trying to stop others. Good God

1) NEWS FLASH back at you – there’s plenty of foods that do not contain HFCS and artificial ingredients… so I challenge your statement that “almost everything we consume today has HFCS.
2) IF “almost everything we consume today has HFCS and artificial ingredients,” then isn’t it more important than ever to reduce one’s consumption of such “foods?” Or at least, cut back/omit the food-products that are insanely over-the-top unhealthy (like Shamrock Shakes)?
3) Also, I find it interesting that you declared that I should “not voice my own opinions (and share the facts) — BUT, at the same time, also believe others should have the right to eat whatever they want? Sounds like a double standard, eh? An argument lacks conviction when you state that freedom should be stripped away from one person (freedom of speech) but insinuate that it others should still have it (freedom to eat whatever one wants).
4) If you took the time to actually read the article before commenting, you would have seen that I have/had no intention in forcing people not to drink a Shamrock Shake. I clearly wrote that, “I don’t think anyone should drink a toxic cocktail like this, but, in the end, it is up to YOU to decide what you will do with this information.” — I still leave it up to you to do whatever you want. 🙂

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Hey, I'm Jen. I help people who are stuck in health, life, and physical performance to develop sustainable lifestyle and movement strategies, so they can reclaim their innate healthy nature and live a dynamic and adaptable life. Read more...

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About Me

Hey, I'm Jen. I help people who are stuck in health, life, and physical performance to develop sustainable lifestyle and movement strategies, so they can reclaim their innate healthy nature and live a dynamic and adaptable life. Read more...